In Andersen’s tale, he deals with a universal phenomenon, the stranger, the unknown. Triton, king of the sea, forbids his daughters to come ashore when his queen consort is killed by humans. Her youngest daughter, Ariel, wants to explore new places and see different worlds. Despite the ban, Ariel embarks on a journey of identity quest after she saves Prince Eric from drowning. Creating a very realistic undersea world, Rob Marshall has made a fun, fantastic, competent film by focusing on the story, characters and interpretations. Disney’s outstanding program, which has so far cast a large number of people of color (non-white), has come under racial criticism for its lead African-American Halle Bailey. Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, Melissa McCarthy, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina play in the film, which advocates tolerance, diversity, color and criticizes discrimination. The choreographies of the dances belong to the African-American modern dance company Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre.
POWER OF NATURE
In our daily lives, we have been living together with disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, climate crises, epidemics, nuclear meltdown. Japanese animator Makoto Shinkai, in ‘Suzume’, examines these tragedies that deeply affect his country and its people with an entertaining, fantastic and mystical narrative. High school student Suzume encounters a mysterious teenager named Sota on her way to school. Sota locks the gates in the parallel worlds so that destructive giant worms do not enter her country and cause chaos. Abandoned places and ruins are like the wounds of the Japanese. Together, the two young people begin to heal these old wounds. Realizing she has the power to stop evil, Suzume goes back to her childhood and confronts the mysterious loss of her mother. The music of the film consists of the sounds of nature, wind and soil. Suzume, which tells about the power of nature and life, the interaction of holy spirits and humans, traditions and customs with a sensitive, abstract, blending reality and fiction, reflects director Shinkai’s passion for Japanese mythology.
THE DARK SIDE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
War Horse is a successful example of independent American cinema directed by actors Gina Gammell and Riley Keough (Elvis Presley’s grandson). The social drama received the Golden Camera award for best first film at Cannes. Pine Ridge, the Native American reservation in South Dakota, is the eighth-poorest-largest camp in the United States. People are malnourished, have diabetes, are addicted to alcohol and drugs, no one lives long. We watch the struggle for survival of two men from the Lakota Oglala tribe with snapshots close to the documentary. Bill, in his twenties with two children, is unemployed, 12-year-old Matho drinks, smokes, uses drugs and sells. Both aim to be rich, free and independent. Their destinies are caught between customs and the American dream. Symbolizing the resistance of their ancestors, the bison binds the young people to their land. Here, children and young people grow up alone. The naturalness of amateur players Jojo Baptise Whiting and LaDainian Crazy Thunder is impressive.